The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-11-19
ROBERT BONNER RETIREs.
Story of Successful Career, of Which Lib
eral Advertising Was the handspring

| New York World.
A reporter saw Mr. Bonner at his house. He
was seated in his library, which is at the of
| the house on the first floor, room filled with
Solid substantial and very rtaole-looking
chairs and sofas, with books arranged in book
cases around the room, a center-taole covered
with books, and old family portraits looking
down from the walls. Mr. Bonner scarcely looks
| the sixty four years to which he acknowledges.
His frame still has every appearance OF vlgor
and of strength, and his large face, with its long
| beard. is fresh of complexion and as healthy
of hue as it was ten years ago.
81 am retiring" he SAID, from the immediate
/ supervision and control of the Ledger, because /
| want to give my boys chance. Iwant to throw
/ them on their own resources and let them feel
that they conducting the business for them
selves. Andrew is the eldest, Robert Edwin the
second and Frederick the youngest of them. OF
/ course I shall help them with advice from time
| to time, but they now the responsible heads
| of the business and editorial departments of the
paper
| II purchased the Ledger in its original FORM"
/ continued Mr.. Bonner, I'm 1851. 1t then
| called the Merchants Ledger and was business
/ paper devoted to the interest of small local and
| country merchants It was filled with prices
current and quotations at which the issues of
| the different banks in the country would be
ceived in New York. Starting from this basis
/ slowly changed the form and character of the
paper TO what it is at present The circulation
| at first was between seven and eight thousand
| per week. / worked very hard indeed to get the
enterprise fairly started. and, after it
| ed, worked harder still. 1t was no unusual
| thing for me 10 work from sixteen to eighteen
hours day. Many time have gone home at
/ II o'clock midnight and been at my desk again
/ at 8 o'clock the next morning There were
times when I asked my wife to sit up for
/ while got more and no less than two hours
sleep. From the very start l began to cast
| around for special and attractive literary feat
4 would
| excite discussion The first hit that /
noys FanpT Fern who w with them
/ the leading litterateur of the day. OF course
/ what she wrote was OF ephemeral character.
/ but her books were having an immense vogue
/ and her name was known from one end of the
| country to the other. She had declared repeat
! edly that she would not write for newspapers,
| but | offered her 800 per column and she con-
| tributed to the Ledger novel which she called
| Fannie Ford The whole matter excited a good
| deal of comment, which was materially helped
/ at that time by the fact that there a ve-y
| interesting discussion in progress whether or
| not Fannie Fern and n. P. Willis brother
| and sister. Willis, who was a literary lion him
SELF was very jealous of all kinds of rivalry and
/ very much disposed to deny the relationship.
| Edward Eyerett's Mount Vernon Papers,
which also appeared in the columns of the
| Ledger, constituted another feature which at
tracted widespread comment Edward Everett
/ at that time was essentially the orator of the
/ day He had been American minister at the
| court of St James, and altogether was prom
| inent figure in our national life. For the
| Mount Vernon Papers l paid him Sic 900.
| When James Gordon Bennett, of the Herald;
/ Horace Greeley, OF the Tribune, and Fl. j. Ray
mond, of the Times. were bitterly attacking
| each other, day after day, in their respective
printed them together in one issue of the Ledger.
| and advertised widely that the lion and lamb
| were lying down together All these noticeable
| and unique features commanded public atten-
| tention, and month by month the circulation of
| the Ledger increased. Svlvanus Cobbs story,
THE Gunmaker of Moscow, was of the most
| SUcceSsful published time.
| and the beginning of Cobbs reputation. The
Hidden Hand by Mrs Southworth, came later.
Beecner's novel, Norwood which the only
| novel he ever wrote contracted for in 1867.
agreed to pay him $25, 600 for it, but it proved
| to be much longer than we had at first arranged
! for, encouraged him to continue. and altogeth-
| paid him over $50, 600. l also printed novel
| written by old DR.. Stephen Tying. of ST. Georges
| Church and in his case also this was the only
work of fiction he had written. Among
other features. Iparsicularly remember, were
letters from twelve college professors and the
Gently have followed this up with articles from
Rev. DIR. Hall. which have been feature of my
paper for ten years past. and also from Bishop
Clark. of Rhode Island.
Having secured my literary attractions al
ways advertised them literally. / was alwaysa
fervent believer in printers ink. but with the
publication of Mrs. Southworths story, the
Island Pearl, in 1856, began the system of ex-
tensive newspaper advertising which first
brought the Ledger into great and remarkable
prominence and shot up its circulation by the
thousand On this occasion / spent $685. 900
among the various New York newspapers. and
$50, 600 was then nearly as much as 800, 900 is
now It was my fuli-page advertisement which
first induced the Herald to make a new depart
ure in daily journalism and issue a supplement
to its regular paper. I was I'D in the posing
ONCE OF the Times one evening and raymond
asked me why in the world took an entire page
of the paper. and why half a col
wouldn't do quite well. told
him that if simply took half
a column he would not have been moved to ask
any questions about it. But did not
in nv ar n n
/ seized every opportunity to bring my paper
before the public. When the circulation reached
100, 900 had 100 guns fred in City Hall Park.
where the post-office now stands, and issued
circulars to the crowd explaining the reason of
the demonstration. As the police were kind
enough TO interfere. the advertising of
course doubled in value, and got notices of the
occurrence in the morning papers. l always
noticed that after occurrences of this kind, and
especially after big newspaper advertising, felt
Immediately beneficial influence the circu-
lation of the paper If advertised the circula-
went up and il didn't advertise it tagged
and even dropped at times / forgot to mention
that when the toffice was building I engaged
the entire expanse of fence which built
around the uncompleted structure and covered
it with announcements OF the story that l was
then publishing.
During my thirty-fve years editing of the
the Ledger have, of course, come into contact
with nearly all the literary people of the coun-
try who have lived during that time. Most of
them have been numbered amony my contribu-
tors. With Beecher L was exceedingly intimate.
and never expect to see his equal pulpit
orator. Beecher would not buy farm at Peeks-
kill until had gone I'D there and gone over it
in his company. Bancroft great deal
for the Ledger. 1 remember that was perhaps
one of the first men in New York to learn that
MIR. Lincoln had offered the French mission to
the elder James Gordon Bennett And I also
remember that l communicated the news to Mr..
Bancroft walking along the street
together. He stopped and whistled and declared
that the Senate would never confirm the
ination. The transaction occurred towards the
end of Lincoln's first Presidential term The
h.d hnan ting f1nIo
very enthusiastically, but Little Mac came
on here the beginning of the Presi-
Dental campaign to give dinner TO some
of the leading of the Democratic
party. Mr.. Belmont and other leading
men of the party at that time advised Mcclellan.
in making out his invitations for the dinner, not